Team
by Imaginator
Summary: Rikkai centric Takes place after the Kantou Regionals. Sanada contemplates their loss to Seigaku as he walks towards the tennis courts.


My first venture into the POT fandom even though I've been following the series quite closely for a while now, thanks to Yuncyn and another friend of mine. XD Anyway, my plunnies whacked me around the head with this idea, and demanded that it be written out.

And so here it is. As usual, reviews and critiques are greatly welcomed, and flames will be used to hold a marshmallow-toasting party.

But most of all, I hope that you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed drafting it out (despite the plunnies and their mallets). Onward to the fiction!

Team

He walked through the empty corridors, his tennis bag slung easily over a broad shoulder as he made his way down to the courts on the far end of the school. The sound of rain against the windows echoed all around him, a far cry from the raging thunderstorm of earlier which had resulted in cancelled practice for the day.

_Why was he still here?_

He pushed open the door, glanced once at the grey skies. It was barely a drizzle now, he noted, carefully stepping around a particularly deep puddle; wet shoes weren't something he was particularly fond of. His footsteps crunched down firmly on the asphalt of the sidewalk, steady and purposeful.

_Why am I still here?_

Yukimura looked at him, eyes searching as he probed Sanada's own.

"So…we lost?"

Sanada didn't hang his head or flinch; merely looked his captain in the eye. "Yes."

Silence. Then Yukimura smiled, slightly. "Were they that good?"

Recalling the whole game with Seigaku, everyone's matches, his own match; "Not as good as we will be by the Nationals."

The smile stretched a little wider. And for the first time since their defeat, Sanada could look at his captain without that awkward feeling of inferiority in the pit of his stomach.

_(splash!)_

Wrapped up within his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed where he was walking and had accidentally walked off the relatively dry pavement. Absent-mindedly righting his path, he pondered his own statement.

"Not as good as we will be by the Nationals."

Renji had been increasing the training menu since their defeat at Seigaku's hands, gradually making changes here and there to accommodate for their improvement. But not for the first time, Sanada wondered if it would be enough. Yes, they have won the National three times in a row, reached the peak that so many other tennis teams have only dreamed of attaining.

They say the higher you climb, the harder you'll fall once you did.

If so, Sanada could only be thankful that it was at the Kantou regional and not the Nationals itself. Still, the loss was a devastating blow, especially dealt to a team like theirs.

Sanada wasn't boastful and had no time to even consider narcissism, but even he had to admit that he was sure they were invincible. There were others of course; wildcards and other teams from other states, but he had held the belief that they would triumph eventually over all of them.

Strange that Seigaku could crack that veneer of invincibility so easily. No, not 'easily'; Rikkai had fought, and fought hard for each and every point they scored.

Well, inevitably, a loss was still a loss, despite all the effort you've put in to attain a win.

The grip on the strap of the bag over his shoulder tightened until his knuckles were almost white. He had no doubt that the tennis courts would be empty, everyone dismissed until tomorrow. Aside from the janitor and a few teachers, he was probably the only person still in the school premises.

His pace quickened and he suddenly felt the urge to slam a tennis ball into a wall. That or scream out his frustration at the top of his lungs but that was something Sanada would never allow himself to do. Control was something he prided himself on, and to lose it over something so petty would be contradicting every principle he'd built his life so carefully around.

"Not as good as we will be by the Nationals."

Sanada Genichirou was not a liar.

If it meant that he would have to increase practices, assign a hundred more laps to everyone and have everyone complain about him behind his back, so be it. If he had to be firmer and stricter, well, that was fine with him.

But by hook or by crook, he would make it into the truth. Not just some platitude you say to others to soften the blow, but the hard, solid truth.

Starting with himself.

The tennis courts were just around the corner; perhaps he was too distracted with his own promises or maybe had spent too much time practicing, but were those sounds?...

He rounded the corner, and pulled down the edge of his cap to avoid squinting at the sudden brightness. The overhead lights around the court were all on, and the sounds of tennis balls solidly connecting with rackets were certainly no illusion.

"Ah, Genichirou, I wondered when you'd arrive."

Turning, he saw Yanagi standing by his elbow, unperturbed as he held an open notebook in his hand. Sanada glanced at it briefly and read the several lines on how to improve Marui's backhand.

"I see you've noticed the new program I've prepared." Yanagi smiled slightly and angled the book for better viewing. "We were discussing the ways we could adjust our techniques while we were waiting in the clubroom. Several of us were…very enthusiastic to try them out right after the storm."

Over at the far end, Marui crowed gleefully as he landed a service ace in the opposite court. "Hah! Couldn't touch that, could you now?"

Yagyuu placed an arm on Niou's shoulder to prevent him from retorting back, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "We'll see about that."

Niou snorted as Jackal walked up to his doubles partner and conferred with him in low tones, gesturing every now and then. In another corner, Kirihara was playing against a wall, varying his strokes as the ball slammed relentlessly into the shattered concrete again and again in an unforgiving rhythm. As the ball veered off course and bounced gently away, he cursed as he picked it up, before noticing the vice captain standing at the entrance to the courts, still gripping his bag tightly.

"Ne, Sanada-sempai, you're late!" He grinned before continuing his volley against the wall.

"100 laps around the courts would do it, ne?" Niou called as he returned Marui's shot, efficiently falling back into formation.

"More like 200-Hey, Niou! You _knew _I wasn't paying attention!"

"Well, too bad then. Thirty to fifteen."

As Marui grumbled under his breath, Sanada finally decided to ask. "But I-"

"Called off practice today?" Yanagi's eyes opened slightly. "You're not the only one unhappy over our loss, you know. In fact it makes for rather good motivation." He turned towards Sanada with an understanding expression. "You don't have to shoulder the responsibility all by yourself; we are a team after all. We lost as a team, and we'll grow as a team."

How like Renji to hit the nail right on the head. Sanada looked at him without speaking for a while before abruptly dropping his bag on the nearby bench. "So, what have you got planned?"

"Fifty laps around the courts as warm-up then practice matches. You were supposed to have a match against Kirihara but I hadn't calculated on the possibility of you being late."

Ignoring the amused look on his teammate's face, Sanada said briskly, "I'll do 100 laps then."

Starting his run on the outskirts of the courts, Sanada watched through the wired mesh as his team practiced relentlessly against each other, occasionally jibing at each other as they volleyed the small tennis balls all around the courts. But even in the midst of their joking, it wasn't hard to see that they were all-out serious, playing at full strength as they pressed each other into tight corners and wiggled out of them via various special techniques honed to perfection through hard training.

And despite his control, he couldn't quite prevent the small smile that insisted on pulling on his lips as a surge of pride in his team rushed through him. They'd do just fine in the Nationals. How could they not?

_We are Rikkai Dai._

_And we will not lose._

End

* * *

omake

"Oh oh look, Yagyuu! Sanada's actually _smiling_!"

"Ah, Niou, look out-!"

_(whammmmm!)_

"ITAIIII! Jackal, what was that for?"

"Niou! 100 laps around the courts. Now."

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?"

* * *

A/N: Really couldn't resist adding the omake in at the end XD. Thanks for reading!


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